My First Sydney Mardi Gras

I used to think we did Gay Pride really well in the USA – especially in DC, San Francisco and NYC. But Sydney has seriously got us beat! The Aussies turn Pride in to a multi-week extravaganza called Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and it is absolutely delightful. Here’s a quick run down of all the mega-gay things Daniel and I did over the past couple weeks. Trust me, there was SO much more we could have done if we didn’t have a couple basic requirements known as sleep and jobs. Go figure.

We worked the SUBS (Scuba Underwater Bushwalking Society) booth in Sports Village at Fair Day and also enjoyed seeing all the other rainbow-drenched exhibitors.We got social with the BuzzFeed Oz team and laughed/cringed when the article was posted.We sang along to Mamma Mia! with a few hundred LGBT brethren and straight allies at the St. George Open Air Cinema on the Harbour. What a magical, musical and incredibly joyful night! Unforgettable.We were featured in Sydney’s #1 Gay & Lesbian News Magazine, SX, as part of their Gay Sports Clubs article.We definitely got the message on the importance of safe sex.We watched The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at Beare Park in Elizabeth Bay on a stunningly perfect evening.We promise we watched Priscilla and didn’t just stare in to each other’s eyes (or iPhones) the whole time! Gross! 😉We loudly cheered when the queens made it to the top of King’s Canyon!We laughed along with Newtown Fire & Rescue with their latest win for best signs everrrrrr.We had an amazing view of the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade from atop the Burdekin Hotel. What better place to watch the Dykes on Bikes?We saw some amazing parade groups and floats but Facebook’s #sharethelove may have been the best.We followed the huddle masses after the parade ended and slowly made our way to the Mardi Gras Party.We danced until the morning with thousands of our new friends and felt truly, totally, blissfully free.We recovered with some liquid assistance the following day with Bear Happy Hour at The Bank in Newtown and said ‘farewell’ to an amazing couple weeks of Mardi Gras.

*Not Shown: we also went to two other dance parties but I would flag them both as NSFW and definitely did not take any pictures (nor do I hope any exist in the universe). 😉